Burgeoning Indian trade with the Roman Empire financed almost half the Empire’s defence expenses from Augustus’ reign.
When this trade collapsed after the empire-wide plague of 166 which killed perhaps a third of its population, Europe’s maritime world fell silent. By 700 AD, Indian Ocean goods had vanished from Europe. But trade didn’t die - it shifted east. Indian, Persian and Omani merchants forged vast sea routes from the Gulf to China.
A 6th century mural at Ajanta depicts a three-masted ship - a design Europe wouldn’t use for another 900 years. An 8th century Tamil text describes ships “bent to the point of breaking” under heaps of spices, pepper, ginger and gems. The 8th century Phanom Surin shipwreck near Thailand carried ivory, antler horn and Abbasid jars - proof that long before Europe’s “Age of Discovery,” the Indian Ocean was already the world’s greatest highway of trade.